Kawasaki #1 Selling Motorcycle Brand In America...

JustMX
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1/7/2026 3:49am

klr 650 is the xr 80/100/200 of adventure bikes

affordable, rideable, dependable

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3strokemx
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1/7/2026 5:10am
Beta480RX wrote:
Kinda telling, aka sad, when Indian with a one trick pony product lineup who was recently divested by Polaris to a Private Equity firm is outselling...

Kinda telling, aka sad, when Indian with a one trick pony product lineup who was recently divested by Polaris to a Private Equity firm is outselling Suzuki who "sells" a full range of products.

How much bump do you think they experienced because Indian Scout was mentioned in a radio song?   

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3strokemx
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1/7/2026 5:20am
kage173 wrote:

I'm surprised BMW is that high. Don't they have a very limited product family? I just think of adventure bikes and sport bikes.

3strokemx wrote:
Boomers currently hold something like 50% of the nation's personal wealth.  BMW will be in trouble as that generation becomes too old to cosplay as an...

Boomers currently hold something like 50% of the nation's personal wealth.  BMW will be in trouble as that generation becomes too old to cosplay as an adventure rider on their trips to costco.

Muzzle wrote:
The next generation will just take their place. Do you think the demographic that buys Ducati, Triumph, and other Euro brands are much different? Aging mxers...

The next generation will just take their place. Do you think the demographic that buys Ducati, Triumph, and other Euro brands are much different? Aging mxers and off-roaders turn into ADV riders and will need bikes to hit up Starbucks. Also, you might be surprised at how well BMW sport bikes sell. 

I'm not so sure that the next generation will fully replace BMW customers. 

   Ducati and Triumph have made efforts to capture the younger generations, their motocross bikes being one example. 

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Beagle
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1/7/2026 5:24am Edited Date/Time 1/7/2026 5:27am
cmunn wrote:

mid-size street bikes have been their strength

This right here.

Market growth is in the entry level/ midsize road bikes, that's what sells, not only in Asia but increasingly so in Europe and North America as well.

Off-road bikes are just a blip on the radar, what you see on the track or in the woods does not relate much to global sales.

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The Shop

Beta480RX
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1/7/2026 5:51am
3strokemx wrote:

How much bump do you think they experienced because Indian Scout was mentioned in a radio song?   

I don't think that bump was much. The big Indians are a desirable product from guys I know that are members of the cruiser crowd (I'm not one of them). A good number of them tell me when they are going to buy a new bike again that they will go Indian and sell their H-D. Biggest issue I still see for Indian is a lack of dealership options compared to their H-D competition.

Most of that crowd IMO doesn't want to deal with a multi-line dealership. They want to see their accessories up front and not have to walk around the dirt bike or other street accessories to get to it. They want to go to a parts counter that has people who specialize in only their cruiser parts. Same with service. And I get it. I mean, we all question the parts guys that can't identify the difference in the same part from one year of a 450 to another one. From my dealership employment experiences it is a different demographic and to succeed you need to cater to it. Justifiable or not, there were good reasons most H-D dealers treated Buell as a red-headed stepchild and stashed them in a back corner.

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Zoom
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1/7/2026 6:10am

I would have bet my wifes life that Kawi was way behind honda and yamaha in sales. I find this difficult to believe. 

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3strokemx
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1/7/2026 6:48am Edited Date/Time 1/7/2026 6:48am
3strokemx wrote:

How much bump do you think they experienced because Indian Scout was mentioned in a radio song?   

Beta480RX wrote:
I don't think that bump was much. The big Indians are a desirable product from guys I know that are members of the cruiser crowd (I'm...

I don't think that bump was much. The big Indians are a desirable product from guys I know that are members of the cruiser crowd (I'm not one of them). A good number of them tell me when they are going to buy a new bike again that they will go Indian and sell their H-D. Biggest issue I still see for Indian is a lack of dealership options compared to their H-D competition.

Most of that crowd IMO doesn't want to deal with a multi-line dealership. They want to see their accessories up front and not have to walk around the dirt bike or other street accessories to get to it. They want to go to a parts counter that has people who specialize in only their cruiser parts. Same with service. And I get it. I mean, we all question the parts guys that can't identify the difference in the same part from one year of a 450 to another one. From my dealership employment experiences it is a different demographic and to succeed you need to cater to it. Justifiable or not, there were good reasons most H-D dealers treated Buell as a red-headed stepchild and stashed them in a back corner.

How about the HD focus on DEI and electric? Could it have pushed customers to Indian?    Didn't HD clean house after they realized it wasn't working?  

1/7/2026 7:08am
kage173 wrote:

I'm surprised BMW is that high. Don't they have a very limited product family? I just think of adventure bikes and sport bikes.

Adventure bikes are far and away the largest category of bikes sold 

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Saz
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1/7/2026 7:42am

I'm not surprised with Kawi's cheap new dirt bikes and they are killing the small bike market with the Ninja 300s and 400s. Ninja 400s where dominating lightweight racing at the local level last I checked. Because they could compete in the smaller classes. I raced my R3 and would get passed like I was standing still by Ninja 400s on the straights.

Not to mention lightweight bikes in roadracing are dramatically cheaper to run especially tire wise. Those entry bikes are also great on the road, they have enough power to get around without being an intimidating beast that 600s and other bikes like them can be. Kawi is also one of the few brands still offering a 600cc I4 sport bike that is receiving updates Yamaha doesnt have the R6 on the road anymore, which was the most popular for the longest. The GSXR 600 hasnt been updated in a very long time, and still looks horrific. 07 GSXR 750 is my favorite sport bike period. 

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bluesmoke
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1/7/2026 7:53am
Zoom wrote:
Kawasaki has taken the #1 spot in motorcycle sales in the U.S.. It's been a close 3 way battle with Harley and Honda the last few...

Kawasaki has taken the #1 spot in motorcycle sales in the U.S.. It's been a close 3 way battle with Harley and Honda the last few years with Kawi finally claiming the number 1 spot. 

Below are the top 8 selling brands along with the percentage change over the previous 12 months.

1 - Kawasaki +14.2%

2 - Honda -8%

3 - Harley -15.9%

4 - Yamaha -0.4%

5 - KTM -23.8%

6 - Indian +4.9%

7 - Suzuki -13.7%

8 - BMW -10.8%

For the complete story click on the link below.

https://powersportsbusiness.com/top-stories/2025/12/10/kawasaki-surges-to-no-1-in-the-u-s-motorcycle-market-as-harley-falls-to-third-reports/

Just think if they came out with a 2 stroke 300 moto and woods specific bike. They would've crushed the competition for the forseeable future!

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JustMX
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1/7/2026 8:16am
cmunn wrote:

mid-size street bikes have been their strength

Beagle wrote:
This right here.Market growth is in the entry level/ midsize road bikes, that's what sells, not only in Asia but increasingly so in Europe and North...

This right here.

Market growth is in the entry level/ midsize road bikes, that's what sells, not only in Asia but increasingly so in Europe and North America as well.

Off-road bikes are just a blip on the radar, what you see on the track or in the woods does not relate much to global sales.

I think Harley will be gone before they figure that out.

Pan american adventure bike is a great example. Way too heavy, complex and expensive.

We won't even talk about live wire, their ev experiment.

At least they have a new CEO that started off by talking to dealers about serious issues they need to address.

Beta480RX
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1/7/2026 8:43am
3strokemx wrote:
How about the HD focus on DEI and electric? Could it have pushed customers to Indian?    Didn't HD clean house after they realized it wasn't...

How about the HD focus on DEI and electric? Could it have pushed customers to Indian?    Didn't HD clean house after they realized it wasn't working?  

Everyone is/was doing the DEI thing. Just some more public than others. The people complaining the loudest about H-D were the same people who complain about H-D regardless. They weren't buying new bikes anyways.

LiveWire was so insignificant I don't think it did squat to negatively affect legacy sales. If anything, it screwed dealers who had to invest in showroom space and training techs.

There are more people pissed about the Bronx being axed than LiveWire.

Muzzle
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Vernal, UT, USA
Fantasy
1/7/2026 12:06pm
3strokemx wrote:
Boomers currently hold something like 50% of the nation's personal wealth.  BMW will be in trouble as that generation becomes too old to cosplay as an...

Boomers currently hold something like 50% of the nation's personal wealth.  BMW will be in trouble as that generation becomes too old to cosplay as an adventure rider on their trips to costco.

Muzzle wrote:
The next generation will just take their place. Do you think the demographic that buys Ducati, Triumph, and other Euro brands are much different? Aging mxers...

The next generation will just take their place. Do you think the demographic that buys Ducati, Triumph, and other Euro brands are much different? Aging mxers and off-roaders turn into ADV riders and will need bikes to hit up Starbucks. Also, you might be surprised at how well BMW sport bikes sell. 

3strokemx wrote:
I'm not so sure that the next generation will fully replace BMW customers.    Ducati and Triumph have made efforts to capture the younger generations, their motocross...

I'm not so sure that the next generation will fully replace BMW customers. 

   Ducati and Triumph have made efforts to capture the younger generations, their motocross bikes being one example. 

I think the general state of the economy will have a greater impact than anything. Motorcycles are toys and when the disposable income goes away so do sales.

3
MX558
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1/10/2026 8:23am
Alex814 wrote:

This has to be cheaper than the Suzuki's at this point right?

Dudley wrote:
My last 450 was a KX for this reason. It was even cheaper than the Suzuki. The resale of the KX is horrible in my area...

My last 450 was a KX for this reason. It was even cheaper than the Suzuki. The resale of the KX is horrible in my area, only downside. 

Resale of any dirt bike (RVs and boats too) is horrible at the moment.  Too many Covid buyers that thought it was a good idea at...

Resale of any dirt bike (RVs and boats too) is horrible at the moment.  Too many Covid buyers that thought it was a good idea at the time and realized they don’t have time to use them now that they’re back in the office.

On top of that, you have to be able to come up with the cash to buy.  Not many lenders are keen on financing a used bike for 60 months.

I suppose the good news is that if you paid thousands less to begin with, it makes it easier to stomach the loss when you sell it.

It's much easier to sell a used bike for for under 5k then 8k the other brands . I just picked up a last gen.  23 hr used kx for 3500 which I like better anyway , main bike is 25 350 

Vet57
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1/10/2026 5:25pm
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